Opinion category, Page 281
Letter to the editor: Homeless shelter closing a mistake
Allegheny County recently announced the closure of the Smithfield Street homeless shelter by the end of June without a clear plan to relocate its clients. This is a mistake. Closing this shelter will harm hundreds of our neighbors. There has been an estimated 24% increase in people experiencing homelessness in...
Editorial: Taylor Swift and Juneteenth prove peaceful, joyful fun is still possible
Pittsburgh does love a party, and there’s no party like a huge arena concert. On Friday and Saturday, the city welcomed fans of one of the biggest stars in the world when Taylor Swift brought her “Eras” tour to Acrisure Stadium. To say the turnout was heavy is an understatement....
Letter to the editor: Taylor Swift’s concert anything but
The merch says “Eras Tour,” though “Erathon Tour” would be more fitting. It’s a 3½-hour powerhouse, ranking among the longer half of the extended “Lord of the Rings” cuts. Attendees missed the endurance memo, dancing at sprinter’s pace. By the time “Midnights” hit, traditional applause was replaced by desperate gasps...
Tom Purcell: Good luck paying Uncle Sam’s debt
The national debt broke the $32 trillion barrier this week. It’s a number so huge it’s incomprehensible to the average citizen. We knew $32 trillion was coming. It just got here a lot faster than the money experts thought, thanks to the roughly $5 trillion that the feds spent to...
James Cato and Evan Clark: Pa.’s rivers have a plastics problem, and nobody is willing to act
All Pennsylvanians have the right to clean water. But there is a plastics problem in our rivers, and nobody has been willing to address it properly. We know who is currently causing the problem, and we know how to fix it. And, there is precedent to take action — watershed...
Stacy Garrity: First responders protect all of us in our time of need. They deserve basic mental health benefits.
A police officer arrives at the scene of a robbery and disarms the culprit before anyone is injured. A firefighter rushes into a burning building — not thinking about their own safety — and saves a child. An EMT arrives at the scene of a crash, treats anyone who’s injured...
Letter to the editor: We should all celebrate Juneteenth
Juneteenth should be a day of celebration for all Americans. June 19, 1865, was a great day in America. While in the midst of creating a new government, many of our forefathers realized that slavery was wrong even though it was practiced throughout the world. Our country was so divided...
Letter to the editor: Good people in our community
My wife and I attended a concert recently in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park. We are in our late 80s, and my wife is recovering from a broken shoulder, so it was not an easy task. The place was jammed with people even though we went over an hour early. We...
Editorial: Bill to help combat blight statewide
If efforts of Pennsylvania municipalities to diminish blight in their neighborhoods were a video, it would be an endless loop replaying the same story. A building falls into disrepair; an absentee landlord declines to fix it, relying on property rights within the law to preclude the government seizing it. The...
Letter to the editor: City’s contradictory recycling policy
The City of Pittsburgh in its latest recycling plan is distributing blue containers to households with the objective of discontinuing use of blue bags laid at the curb. However, it seems flawed. With the requirement that everything recyclable must be placed in the containers vs. blue bags at the curb,...
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 19
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 19....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 19
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 19....
Danielle M. Reiff: White women and racial (in)justice — it’s not black and white
Mayella Ewell is one of the most complex characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She is a white woman who makes sexual advances toward her Black neighbor, Tom Robinson. When he refuses, she falsely accuses him of rape. During Tom’s trial, we learn that Mayella’s father is a drunkard who...
Jason C. Bivins: How Pat Robertson changed Christian media and made it politically influential
For Americans growing up between the 1950s and the ’80s, religion was a predictable presence on television: There were weekly Sunday morning shows and religious programming that issued end-time warnings, sought monetary contributions or staged faith healings. But none of those covered news. Pat Robertson, who died June 8, changed...
Letter to the editor: Is Trump above the law?
The responses of congressional Republicans to President Trump’s indictment, as described in the article, “Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation” (June 10, TribLIVE) show, that these supporters are more concerned about Donald Trump than about the safety of our nation and the...
Editorial: Big events like Taylor Swift concerts mean economic boon for local economies
There was no way of missing the fact Taylor Swift came to town. Acrisure Stadium may have been built for football, but this past week, the real score was put up by a 5-foot, 10-inch blond with a sequin-spangled wardrobe and a catalog of catchy, autobiographical hits. The two Pittsburgh...
Letter to the editor: When will we see another victory?
Recently we paused to observe Memorial Day and recognize those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our flag and nation. These heroes brought us our glorious back-to-back World War victories. Many others fought in wars (conflicts, conflagrations, etc.) not officially declared or fully supported by a government that put...
Letter to the editor: We should all be proud of who we are
It’s Pride Month, and LGBTQ people celebrate who they are — and rightfully so. Yet, they are shunned by many in communities all over in this country because they are “different.” We are all different, from the color of our skin to our religious beliefs. With the spewing of hatred...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Happy Father’s Day, George Washington
As we get ready to honor our own fathers, especially after a week like the last one, Father’s Day 2023 seems like a good time to remember “The Father of Our Country,” George Washington. This past Tuesday, former president Donald Trump was arraigned in federal court on 37 criminal charges...
Yarone Zober: Downtown can make comeback again … with care for place and people
Since 1753, when a young British major named George Washington recognized that the land at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers was “extremely well situated for a fort,” our “Golden Triangle” of a Downtown has been recognized as a special place. This little patch of land, a little less than...
Gary Ross: How the exposure of highly classified documents could harm U.S. security — and why there are laws against storing them insecurely
When Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on June 13 to federal criminal charges related to his alleged illegal retention of classified documents, it was his first opportunity to formally answer charges that he violated the Espionage Act. The Justice Department alleges that, after his presidency, Trump held, in an unsecure...
Sounding off: Mental health days, Springdale ‘implosion,’ Trump, Madden on readers’ minds
Mental health days help students succeed As a recent high school graduate, I can wholeheartedly say that our schools need more mental health support. Across Western Pennsylvania, the recommended ratios of guidance counselors to students are not being met, workloads are increasing and students are suffering. If “mental health day”...
Letter to the editor: Stan Savran was a class act
Stan Savran was the man. I thoroughly enjoyed his broadcasts, both TV and radio. He knew his stuff and asked the right questions. I remember in my youth asking Stan for his autograph while we were walking up the hill to the locker room during Steelers training camp at Saint...
Letter to the editor: John Kerry’s climate hypocrisy
I can’t hold back. When are the real scientists going to start speaking out and making themselves seen and heard? Now we have another genius, John Kerry, telling us we need to “cut agricultural emissions.” Next maybe he’ll suggest we get rid of our cows, like in Ireland, where the...
Editorial: Pittsburgh synagogue shooting jury delivers justice
In a criminal court, the point of a trial is establishing responsibility. Was the person at the defense table guilty? Is there enough evidence to say this is who committed the crime? With some crimes, this seems downright pointless. We know who did it, society says. We know who is...
